Modern Warfare 3

Turtle Beach created the most impressive headset ever with the Ear Force PX5. The device had everything gamers could want in a set of cans. Great surround sound? Check. Dual bluetooth capability? It lets you chat with friends in-game, listen to your own music and answer phone calls at the same time. But what puts it over the top is the software built into the headset. Gamers can adjust the audio to make footsteps louder or quiet the sound of gunshots. It gives them a distinct advantage in competitive play.

Now, the company is producing a special line of licensed headsets forCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Turtle Beach could have slapped the game’s logo on the PX5s and that could have satisfied expectations. But they wanted to create something special for what’s likely to be the biggest game of the year, according to analysts.

The Ear Force Modern Warfare 3 headsets come in four flavors each based on different models. They’re labeled Bravo, Charlie, Delta and Foxtrot. On the surface, they look like the original models except with different colors. Along with being reskinned, the company also coated the MW3 headsets in a military-grade paint to give it a sturdy, gritty feel.

*Update We got some wrong info and those Ear Force Bravo headphones are actually $179.95.

Turtle Beach is making some major headway into the video games headphones market, and their latest move is a coup. The Elmsford, N.Y.-based company has struck a deal with Activision to create a new line of Ear Force headsets for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. As you can see, they look good, reminiscent of the PX models, but it’s the sounds they emit that count.

According to Turtle Beach, they’ll be coming out with four different headsets using military call letters — Ear Force Delta, Ear Force Bravo, Ear Force Charlie and Ear Force Foxtrot. All will be different but they’ll come with audio presets specifically designed for the game and tuned by the audio teams from Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games.

When Infinity Ward lost two of its founders, Jason West and Frank Zampella, I wondered how that studio would fair. The developer works in tandem with Treyarch on the Call of Duty series. One studio releases an entry while the other works on theirs in a back-and-forth schedule that’s produce a game every year like clockwork. With that loss of leadership, who would enter to fill that void? Better yet, with that messy disruption and the numerous departures, how could Infinity Ward ship its latest game in time?

ECHOES OF WORLD WAR II: At the E3 Activision booth, I saw the same demo that the company showed at the Microsoft news conference. In Hunter Killer, a team of special forces members hijack a Russian submarine and use its missiles to retaliate against the Kremlin. The setup screams Hollywood blockbuster, and in a way, it echoes back to the series’ origins in World War II.

During the special forces escape, they’ll see battleships firing at each other and aircraft carriers slowly sinking. Meanwhile, skyscrapers along the New York waterfront will be set on fire. Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer games even managed to get the Freedom Tower in the distance despite the building not being completed yet.